Bridge to Nowhere
by cleartape
Summary: Set after episode 313. Drastic events lead to drastic mistakes as Brooke breaks up with Lucas although she knows she loves him more than anything. Will they be able to find their way back to each other? BRUCAS.
1. Stand Back and Marvel

**Bridge to Nowhere, Stand Back and Marvel**

**Summary:** Set after Episode 313: "The Wind That Blew My Heart Away". Peyton had confessed to her mother Ellie her deep regret in letting her first love, Lucas go. After discovering her secret, Brooke finds in increasingly difficult to not feel guilty since her and Lucas are together. Drastic events lead to drastic mistakes as Brooke breaks up with Lucas although she knows she loves him more than anything. Will they be able to find their way back to each other?

I don't own One Tree Hill or any of the characters. Read and Review please!

Brooke Davis sat on her best friend, Peyton's Sawyer's bed leaning against the wooden headboard resting her trigonometry textbook on her bent legs – using the long legs guys lusted for as an platform to read.

But reading was the one thing she couldn't do as she watched her best friend sitting at her desk drawing as a way of mourning for the recent lost of her birthmother. The room was filled with silence, no music played blasted from the radio.

Something which barely ever happened.

Unable to concentrate on her studies, Brooke tapped the end of her pencil on her textbook. She opened her mouth to speak but decided to not say anything for she wasn't sure if she was to break the silence. Maybe the silence was good.

Biting her lip, she finally released it and broke the stillness. "Pey, do you need anything? Chocolate? I could go back to my apartment and grab some Ben and Jerry's" She was desperate to have her golden haired friend speak; she didn't want her to think she was alone.

"No." Peyton offered a weak smile and brought her eyes back down to her drawings.

"You know you can talk to me right? Always." It was true; Brooke would always put her friends first.

Peyton gave a nod and again, returned to her drawings. Setting her textbook beside her, Brooke moved towards the end of the bed towards Peyton. Sitting at the edge of the bed, she reached out a supporting hand for her best friend to take.

"It's gonna be okay, I promise you that." Peyton took her best friend's hand and smiled. She was truly grateful for the support but it seemed as if there was so much piling on her shoulder's it was too hard to continuously say 'I'm okay'.

Tears began to stream rapidly down Peyton's cheeks as soon as she took her best friend's hand.

"Hey, talk to me. I'm here, you know that right?" Pulling her golden haired next to her. She put her arms around Peyton, letting her cry into her shoulder.

"I just, I can't take it anymore. There's so much piling up…" She let herself unravel; it had been weeks since she had found her mother dead and weeks since she let herself cry.

"It's okay." Assuring her best friend she could cry and look towards her for comfort, Brooke continued to hold Peyton letting her mourn.

"No, it's not going to be okay. Ellie…she- I shouldn't have let her walk out of the house. I should have brought her to the hospital. She had been talking about death, I should've known." Peyton said as she left Brooke's embrace. She stood up, running her hand through her golden blonde hair to keep them from her tears.

"Pey, you can't blame yourself for this." Brooke looked up at her friend; unsure of how to make her know Ellie's death was nobody's fault.

"But I do…maybe, maybe everything that's happened in my life is my fault." Peyton sniffed and fiercely wiped falling tears with the sleeve of her shirt. "I let my dad leave every year for his job even though I hate it, I let Ellie die, I let Lucas go."

Brooke's eyes quickly shot up at Peyton's. Had she just said she regretted not being with him? Had she just admitted her feelings towards him?

"Oh, no Brooke I didn't mean that...I-" Peyton scrambled for words to cover up her mistake. But she couldn't. She said it…it was finally out.

She still loved Lucas with feelings she never buried.

"Ummm..I.." Brooke's eyes gazed downward with feelings of confusion causing her to feel dizzy. Was this happening again?

Was history going to repeat itself?

"Brooke, it just came out. It was stupid and I didn't even mean it, it doesn-" Peyton wasn't even able to continue her sentence since she was cut off.

"Are you in love with him?" Her voice was soft, calm- nothing like Peyton would have imagined.

Peyton looked at Brooke and didn't answer. She closed her eyes and cringed, ready for her best friend to explode at her.

But she received something she never in the world would have expected. An embrace.

"It's gonna be okay," Brooke whispered as she held her best friend in a tight squeeze. "I gotta go but call me if you need anything ok?" She offered the blonde a tight smile and touched her arm before heading out the door,

"Brooke, wait," The brunette turned to face the blonde and it was clear to Peyton that tears were beginning to form.

"Don't worry about it." And with that, she left with a small wave. Peyton stayed where she was. Was Brooke honestly okay with what she had just said or was it tearing her up inside?

Peyton walked towards her bed and sat at the edge as tears streamed down like a waterfall. Everything wasn't going right, everything was falling apart.

---------

Brooke Davis walked down the familiar sidewalks of Tree Hill towards her and Haley's apartment. The wind blew her chocolate brown hair and sent shivers down her body. Rubbing her hands against her arms, she tried to find warmth.

Questions made hurricanes whirl through her mind, questions she wanted to forget.

But that wouldn't ever happen.

Had her best friend just admitted she loved her boyfriend? Would history repeat itself? Brooke retraced the past events which had shattered her hearts two years ago. Her best friend, the sister she never had, and the only boy she had ever let herself fall in love with had went behind her back to be with each other.

Her heart had shattered for the first time from their betrayal. She never even knew how she ended up piecing it back together.

But she found a way to do so, forgiving both although it was one of the hardest things she could ever do. She couldn't live without them, she knew it. They were her Peyton, her Lucas.

Lucas.

The blonde haired boy who had eyes she could lose herself in. The boy who could make her feel as if she was the only one he could ever contemplate being with.

She had finally admitted wanting to be with him after the betrayal. After mistakes, dramatic confrontations, and rainy nights, they had found each other again, found forgiveness in each other, found love again.

It had been 3 weeks and two days since the two had really made love. After finding trust in each other in a rain poured argument, they proved to each other how much they meant to each other. When they were together, she felt something she had never felt with anyone- she was deeply in love.

But could that break in a snap of a finger?

Sure she trusted Lucas and Peyton to never betray her but she questioned whether she should be in a relationship with him. Her best friend was hurting from all that was occurring in her life.

Was it fair to her if she was happy?

---------

Brooke reached her hand into her tan colored Coach bag searching for her keys to enter her apartment. When she finally retrieved it, she opened the door hoping to see her roommate, Haley.

But no, to her dismay no one was home. The rooms were empty.

She needed her now. Haley James Scott had through the beginning of senior year, become one of her safety nets. She was there for her when she needed her. Haley was her support. She began as just Lucas's best friend and soon became _her_ best friend.

But she wasn't home. She never was these days. Haley was always off with her husband Nathan trying to find their way back to each other. Sure Brooke was happy for them, but sometimes she just needed Haley to talk to.

Brooke let herself fall onto her bed. It smelled of Lucas and she loved that.

A tear fell from her beautiful green eyes as she knew what she was supposed to do.

Brooke shot up from her bed when she heard the front door open and close.

"Haley, thank god you're here. I really need to talk t-"She hadn't even finished her sentence since when she walked outside she was face to face with her piercing blue eyed boyfriend.

"Sorry, it's just me." Lucas said as he kissed Brooke's cheek. God he loved her. Brooke offered Lucas a tight smile.

"So I brought fried rice and I wasn't sure if you wanted cookie dough or double chocolate chip ice cream so I just got both." He said as he set the food down on the kitchen counter. He saw his girlfriend's melancholy state when she hadn't responded at the mention of her two favorite ice cream flavors.

"Hey, is anything up? You don't look so good." He reached out an arm to touch her but once it landed, she stood up not letting him in.

"Umm..maybe we should talk." She began to fidget as she chipped nail polish off her nails.

Lucas walked over to her and took her petite into his hands. She looked up at him and he found she had tears in her eyes. Lucas looked at the brunette questionably. _What had her feeling this way? _

"You know Peyton…I um visited her today and-"

"Did something happen?" interrupted Lucas.

"Just let me finish ok?" Brooke looked up at her boyfriend's eyes and began to lose herself. She shook it off and forced herself to not look into him for she was afraid she wouldn't be able to finish.

"Well…with Ellie not here, she's really alone and I want to be there for her,"

"And I love you for that."

"But you see, she's been losing a lot of people lately. Her mom, her dad's never here, Jake, and now Ellie and I can't get them back but there's one person who I can."

"Who?"

"You." It was simple as that.

Another tear slid down Brooke's flawless face.

"What do you mean?" Lucas was baffled at what Brooke was saying. What had she meant by that?

"She still loves you Luke and I think it's be best if you went to her." Brooke saw as Lucas stepped back and looked at her in confusion with hints of frustration.

"But I don't want her, I want you. Don't you get that?" He had thought he had made it clear that rainy day that he had no feelings whatsoever for Peyton.

"I know…but she needs someone."

"And I can be there as a friend." His response was calm but it still had hints of anger.

"No…you don't get it. Peyton needs me but I can never be that person you were when you two were together and she needs that now."

"This is stupid Brooke and you know it. I think you just want to end us and you're looking at that as an excuse." Lucas was beginning to yell, it was as if she would never want to be with him.

"She needs you." Her voice began to rise.

"But _I_ need you." Lucas's voice softened.

"Luke, don't make this any harder than it already is." Her heart was breaking. She just wanted to forget all this.

"I love you Brooke, don't you understand that?" Lucas stared deep into Brooke's eyes, refusing to look away.

The brunette stood on her tip toes and kissed him softly on his cheek before pulling away.

"This is bullshit Brooke." His anger level raised and he walked away, slamming the door behind him.

She turned around and stared at the closed door. Half of her wanted to run after him and just tell him it was a joke.

But she knew this was the right thing to do.

This was what she had to do.

**AN**_: So tell me if you like it or not by clicking the review button. I worked pretty hard on this story and I'm not sure if it's good or not. And about **Wishful Things**, I will update- I promise you that. Things are getting hectic with all this school work and it's hard to find time to yourself. **READ AND REVIEW! MUCH LOVE.**_


	2. Stanger I Will Disregard

**Bridge to Nowhere, Stranger I Will Disregard**

It had been two long days since the incident. The world before Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott was that of silence. No phone calls lasting until two in the morning. No late dinners. No conversations filled with excessive flirting.

Nothing.

Neither had picked up the phone to call or even attempt to talk. They'd stared at their phones, hoping the other would call or wishing they would find the courage to pick it up themselves, but it never happened.

And so the days following that Friday afternoon were filled with silence.

"Okay Brooke, something's up. You've been on that bed for two days," Haley said, sitting down on the edge of Brooke's bed as she brushed a stray hair from the brunette's face.

"It's … the weather," Brooke lied as she plastered on a fake smile. She knew she couldn't get anything past Haley, but it seemed as if this wasn't something she wanted to tell even her roommate.

"Brooke, the weather is gorgeous," Haley smiled at her friend's lame attempt. "If you actually went outside, you'd know."

"I just …" she paused before continuing, "Do you ever want to just stay in bed forever and avoid the whole world?"

"Yes, but … you can't. You've got to face it sometime."

"I know." Her response was almost a whisper. It was almost as if she just wanted to believe for a split second that it was true.

"Is this about Lucas? Because I just came from his and the only words that came out of his mouth were about you." Haley rolled her eyes, thinking about her best friend's glum state.

Brooke paused before answering. "How is he?"

"Well, he looks exactly like you right now. He's staring at the phone too."

Quickly Brooke dragged her eyes away from the phone, not wanting Haley to see her suffering as well.

Haley chuckled. "I'm not going to pry but I am going to pull you out off this bed. C'mon missy, it's time for school."

"Do I have to?"

"If you want that C+ in biology, you better get up."

Holding out a hand for her to take, Haley grinned as she heard Brooke moan. Pulling her off the bed, Haley slowly walked out of the room, a bit disappointed her friend, who she had begun to think of as almost like a sister, didn't want to confide in her. Sure, Brooke was popular and almost the complete opposite from her, but after having lived with her, Haley had started to believe that they were more than just roommates, but best friends.

Putting her hand on the door frame, she turned back around to see Brooke standing in front of her closet wondering what she could wear.

"Are you okay?" Haley hated being helpless.

"I'll be fine," she said as she tried desperately to flash a famous Brooke Davis smile.

Haley again turned to leave in defeat.

---------

If only this was another day.

Hugging her books tight against her chest, she walked towards the doors leading to the hallway.

"Hey Brooke!" Turning her head she saw Bevin, her fellow cheerleader and friend, walk towards her.

She was always so chipper.

"Oh hey Bevin." She smiled a weak smile which was unnoticeable to the dirty blonde who was already in the midst of telling Brooke her latest encounter with Skillz.

Some days it was all she talked about, but usually Brooke didn't mind. It helped her get her mind off things she tried to forget.

But today, it seemed nothing could.

"So, anyway Skillz did the sweetest thing last night, well he does a lot of sweet things, but last night he came to m-"

There he was.

The blond hair blued eyed boy.

Lucas grabbed his books from his locker as he prepared for his next class wondering how he would manage to get through this day, until he heard Bevin's voice. Turning hopefully to see who she was talking to, he saw _her_ walking down the hallway.

There she was.

The girl with the most amazing smile.

He couldn't move from his position. He couldn't help but stare, not even daring to move a muscle for fear that if he blinked he would lose a moment with her.

Brooke couldn't help but gaze into Lucas' eyes until she realized if she continued, she would never be able to let go of him. Turning away from Lucas as if she hadn't even seen him, she continued to walk the halls almost like nothing had occurred.

Watching her walk past him as if he wasn't there, Lucas couldn't help lean back into his locker and close his eyes in frustration. Turning back around, he slammed his fist into his locker. All he wanted to do was hold Brooke.

All he wanted to do was love her.

"Hey man, bad day?" Nathan asked as he approached his brother.

Lucas couldn't help but glare at his younger brother.

"Haley said something's up with you."

"What did she say?" Lucas sighed.

"Well, that you were having problems with a certain beautiful brunette."

"I just don't get her. Her reasoning is beyond me."

"Have you talked to her?"

"Not after that night we …" Lucas paused as he noticed the error of his words,"After she broke up with me."

"Talk to her. If that doesn't work, groveling always works for me."

Lucas chuckled as he grabbed his last book and headed towards class alongside his brother.

This was going to be a long day.

---------

Three days ago, Brooke remembered complaining to Lucas about how they didn't have enough classes together. One just wasn't enough.

But today she was thankful for their limited class time together.

All through English class, Brooke felt Lucas' eyes on her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw those piercing blue eyes looking at her. It was painful just being in the same room with him.

"Hey P. Sawyer!" Falling down next to Peyton, who as always was focused on her sketchbook, Brooke was glad it was lunch. It meant half the day was almost over.

"…Hey Brooke" Peyton was a bit taken aback she was still was talking to her after the outburst.

"I brought you some freshly baked cookies courtesy of Tutor Wife," she said as she pulled out a container filled with delicious treats.

"Brooke, about what I said the other day-"

"Do you want chocolate chip or sugar?" Brooke interrupted brightly.

Peyton paused before answering as she stared at Brooke a bit in confusion. "…sugar."

Maybe forgetting was the way to go.

---------

The last bell. Grabbing her books, Brooke hurried out of the classroom. All she had to do was grab some books from her locker and then her day would be over.

Walking past the fellow THHS students chattering and clamoring, she turned the corner.

Only to see him standing there waiting.

Waiting for her.

His hands were in his pockets and his eyes stared into hers, never looking away. Trying desperately to avoid him, Brooke prepared to walk past him, only to be stopped by his words.

"Are you happy?" It was such a simple question.

"What…?" Brooke asked, surprised by his sudden bluntness.

"Brooke, are you happy?" Lucas stepped closer to her.

"Don't do this," she shook her head slowly, pleading.

"Don't do what?" His response was defensive but his frustration was beginning to get the better of him.

"Don't be like this…" Brooke looked up at Lucas with tears threatening to spill.

"I just want to be with you Brooke…" His voice was soft as he lifted his hand to touch her face.

"No, you can't," she said as she stepped back to avoid his touch.

"So, I can't love you?" Lucas asked frustrated.

"No! Peyton…I need her to be happy." Brooke's voice began to break as tears fell from her eyes.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"How can I get through the day knowing you're not happy?"

"You have to pretend."

Lucas stared at Brooke in her fragile state. He wanted desperately to be the guy to rescue her. "Why are you doing this?"

"Just … stop," she whispered, unable to even look at him without tears falling.

"Then tell me you don't love me."

"Lucas..." Looking up at him, she was at a loss for words.

"I need to hear it Brooke. Tell me you don't want to be with me."

She said nothing.

His lips lifted into a sad smile as he raised his hand to gently stroke her tear-stained cheek before letting his hand drop and turning around. He left her standing there.

Only he could make her feel this way.

Only he could she ever love.

Turning around, Brooke watched Lucas walk out of the school. But she knew this wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to feel this feeling again.

She needed to forget.

Roughly wiping away the tears from her face, Brooke slowly opened her locker only to come face to face with memories.

The photo booths. The kisses. The stolen glances. The surprises. The smiles.

No guy had ever done anything even remotely close to what Lucas had done to prove he was the guy for her. No guy could ever be like Lucas Eugene Scott.

Take a deep breath, Brooke slowly began to take down the pictures, and then the decorations until her locker was just simply … a locker.

A plain, blue locker.

**AN:** So sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I deeply apologize. I promise I'll post my next update faster since I've already started writing it so expect a new chapter in a week or so. I pinky swear to that. Anyway, I want to thank my three new betas, Cari, Miranda, and Justine who helped me with this chapter. Please review to my story. They make me smile and more inspired to write.

So I hope you enjoyed the update, be sure to click the **REVIEW **button to tell me if you liked it or not. **MUCH LOVE.**


	3. A Need for Distractions

**Bridge to Nowhere, A Need for Distractions**

It was a bittersweet feeling.

On one hand, she still loved him. But on the other, she didn't want to be with him.

Hands stuffed in his pockets, Lucas walked down the street with his iPod playing _Walking Down The Hill_, a song by Travis. Anytime he heard the band, he thought of a certain brunette who had told him that tracks 8 and 11 reminded her of him.

Sure, it was Peyton who had chosen the songs and told her what to say, but the thought of Brooke wanting to connect to him made him that much more in love with her.

It was one of the reasons he constantly listened to the songs.

Turning the corner, he reached Peyton's house. Letting himself in and walking up the stairs until he reached her room, he saw her seated on her bed.

"Hey," Lucas said as he leaned on the door's frame.

"Hey," Peyton replied as she set her drawing pad down.

"How are you holding up?" Lucas asked while seating himself by the computer.

"It's just another day, right?" Peyton attempted to smile.

"Peyton…" Lucas saw through her attempt.

It was one of the reason she loved him, even if she didn't want to.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

"But I do worry."

"Well, you _should_ be concentrating on that girlfriend of yours." Peyton watched as the blonde haired boy across the room hung his head in frustration. "Why'd you guys break up in the first place?"

Lucas chuckled at her question. "Do you really want to know?"

"That bad?" She feared the answer.

Lucas looked at Peyton and she instantly knew what the reason was without him having spoken a word.

"Oh." It was all she could manage to say.

"Yeah"

"I..." Peyton looked off at a distance. Had she really done that? She was at a lost of words. "I didn't mean for-"

"Yeah, me neither."

And there they sat. Two people who had, in the past, been attracted to each other, in the same room.

They couldn't even look at each other, both only being able to stare in space.

Both thinking about the same girl.

---------

"Hey Brooke!" The bells of Karen's café rang as a chipper dirty blonde haired girl came skipping in along with a dark brunette.

"Hey guys" Brooke laughed puzzled as Bevin waved a flyer around her face and bounced in excitement.

"Don't pay attention to Bevin, she's just-"

"Hey, I have reason to be," Bevin quickly interrupted Theresa.

"Okay. What's up?" Brooke was already full of curiosity.

"You're gonna love us when we tell you," Theresa chirped in, equally thrilled.

"Will you guys tell me already?" the brunette laughed as she began to get impatient.

Theresa quickly held up the flyer for Brooke to read. "Saturday, party at 9pm at…" Brooke skimmed before grabbing the flyer in excitement. "Oh my God, this is a Courtney Ryan party!"

"Do you love us or what?" Bevin squeaked.

"So, are you coming?"

Brooke thought for a moment. Maybe a party was really what she needed to forget Lucas. "… What can I wear?"

The three girls squealed and giggled in exhilaration.

"Let's ditch this place and find us a mall. I saw the perfect dress last week and it's to die for."

"Guys, I can't. Karen's expecting me to be here until six."

"What happened to the old Brooke? The…fun one?" Theresa challenged Brooke with a pout.

"Guys…" Brooke struggled to say no.

"C'mon Brooke, we can't go shopping without you," Bevin pleaded.

"I guess Karen won't mind if I took a break right now…" Brooke as she looked at her two friends questioningly. The girls yet again squealed in delight. Quickly, Brooke grabbed the dirty plates placing them in the kitchen, and untied her apron as she exited the café ready for some much needed fun.

---------

"That's eight, game point." Nathan said as he dribbled the ball ready to score yet another point.

Dribbling the ball towards the net, Nathan faked left then went right. But Lucas caught the trick and stole the ball from Nathan's hands before he had the chance to win.

Quickly finding an open space, Lucas shot the ball. It bounced off the rim.

"So, still fighting with Brooke?" Nathan said as he dribbled the ball.

"… Are you stalling?" Lucas asked, wondering why his brother suddenly stopped playing. Truth was, he didn't want to talk about Brooke anymore- it hurt too much.

"You just seem distracted."

Lucas brushed off his comment as he motioned for Nathan to pass him the ball.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Nah, let's just play." Lucas shot the ball and again, it went in perfectly.

"Scouts are coming out next week," Nathan said, changing the subject in order to please his older brother.

"Yeah … I got to get my game up. My lay-ups are getting weak."

"Don't worry about it so much."

"Easy for you to say. You can get into any college, scholarship or not with your money," Lucas muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Taken aback by his comment, Nathan began to feel defensive.

"..Nothing man, I'm just stressed." Taking out his frustrations, Lucas slammed the basketball hard onto the concrete floor.

"Look, there's a party tonight at some girl's beach house. You should go. Maybe it'll help chill you out."

"Yeah. Maybe," Lucas muttered.

---------

_What's the point?_ Brooke put down her kabuki brush and stared into the mirror. What was the point of dressing up or applying makeup if they weren't together? Even if she knew Lucas would love her regardless of how much makeup she wore or how stylish her latest fashion was, she always felt a need to see him stare at her in awe.

But it didn't even seem to matter now. They weren't even together.

Idly finishing applying a coat of mascara, Brooke retreated to her closet.

Tracing her fingers through her clothes, the brunette sighed as she thought of the party. She had begun to think it would be easy way to forget her recent troubles, but ended up finding it even more difficult to want to be happy.

Taking a deep breath, Brooke grabbed her black, strapless short dress.

Running her fingers through her loose curls, she retreated towards the door but was stopped as her blonde friend came in.

"Hey Brooke," Peyton said as she entered.

"Hey P. What's up?" Brooke asked, wondering why she unexpectedly arrived at the apartment.

"I um...wanted to talk to you about Lucas," Peyton admitted.

"Can it wait? I'm kinda on my way out," Brooke pointed to the door avoiding having to speak of the blonde haired boy.

"Look Brooke, I love you. More than you would ever know. And…" Peyton paused before continuing. "I love him too but I would never want to jeopardize your relationship with him."

Brooke desperately wanted to escape, but she knew this was a conversation she couldn't steer clear of. "Have you talked to him?"

"Yeah, and he told me you two broke up."

"Yeah," Brooke mumbled as her eyes drifted downward at the kitchen counter.

"Brooke, what I said, it doesn't mean anything. You're happy with him, so if you love him you wouldn't let a stupid thing like me ruin it."

"Peyt, I-"

"No, I won't let you do that to him, or yourself. You're my best friend. I promised I wouldn't hurt you again" Peyton assured her.

"I kn-"

"He loves you, not me. Breaking up with him for me is-"

"You think you're the only reason I broke up with him?" Brooke snapped.

"What?"

Brooke stared closely at Peyton contemplating whether or not she should confide. "I was sitting by the rocks by the River Court, just to think. I was so happy … everything seemed to be perfect. Then I saw this yellow bottle by the shore hitting the rocks. It didn't bother me at first but it just kept hitting the rocks. So I um, I picked it up and it was a bottle for prescription drugs."

"I don't get it."

"Lucas Eugene Scott, prescription drugs for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Peyt, he has HCM," Brooke's voice cracked in the middle of her sentence as the thought of Lucas possibly dying killed her.

_Lucas stood on the rocks staring intensely out into the river. His hands fall into his pockets as he thought of the night he had. _

_His heart hadn't been in the game. Not only mentally with the recent events surrounding Brooke and Chris Keller but physically as well with his heart condition. To top off his day, he had to walk his way home on tired legs after having been kicked out of the car by Rachel._

_Taking out his medication anger washed over Lucas as he gritted his teeth, closing his fingers around the bottle. What was the point of the medication if his heart still hurt? _

_Staring into the lights, he threw the bottle into the river before turning to leave. _

Brooke stood behind the counter as she fought against the tears threatening to spill whilst Peyton sat in front of her in disbelief.

"But he hasn't ever said anything," Peyton said, finally breaking the silence.

"And I waited. I waited for him to tell me but he never did."

"But Nathan, he doesn't have it. How did Lucas…?" She was still at a lost as she desperately tried to take everything in.

"He has a 50-50 chance. Yes or no."

"But Brooke, why would you break up with him for this?" Peyton asked hesitantly.

"Peyton, he never told me. If he keeps something this big from me, what else is he keeping? He asked me to trust him, how can I?"

"He still plays the game," Peyton said in concern.

"Yeah" Brooke said as she lightly brushed away the tears which blurred her vision.

"I…" Peyton trailed off.

"Look, there's a party tonight," the brunette began. "Maybe we could go."

"Yeah," Taking her eyes off the floor, Peyton finally stood up from her seat. "I think I need a beer anyways."

Brooke sighed. "Make that two."

---------

"Lucas, you made it!" Haley exclaimed as she saw him enter the beach house. Grabbing Nathan by the hand, Haley pulled him towards Lucas.

"Hey man," Nathan gave Lucas a quick nod.

"Hey," Lucas muttered.

"We're glad you made it"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go get a drink," Lucas said before disappearing into the crowd.

"Okay," Haley sighed quietly. "I'm worried about him, Nathan."

"Look who turned up," Nathan said quietly, causing Haley to look up at the door. In came Brooke and Peyton who were being crowded by the other party goers.

"Is it okay if I go talk to her?" Haley looked up at Nathan.

"Go ahead."

Haley began to walk away until she felt Nathan catch her arm and pull her back. "Did I forget something?" Haley asked in confusion.

In response, Nathan gave her a quick kiss before letting her go again.

---------

"Brooke!" Haley called out as she made her way through the crowd.

"Hey, Tutor Girl," Brooke answered cheerfully.

"Oh, Peyton I didn't know you were coming," Haley beamed, surprised Peyton came to the party.

Peyton shrugged awkwardly.

"Can I borrow Tigger for a second?" Haley gestured by pulling the brunette's hand.

"Yeah, I need to get a drink anyway," Peyton said as she waved them off, watching them disappear into a room. She headed straight for the bar.

_**AN:** Ok, so here's chapter number three for all you readers. I hope you enjoyed it. The flashback in this chapter is a scene from 3.08- The Worst Day since Yesterday. I want to thank my two awesome betas, Cari and Miranda for their help on this chapter. And…well again, I hope you enjoyed it and I promise a new chapter soon. Read and Review please. _


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